London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

A puppy snatched from a London park has been reunited with its owner after being found roaming the streets ten miles away on the other side of London.

Anne-Marie Neilon broke the news to her three children that six-month-old Bella had been stolen and would never come home.

But last week - thanks to an identifying microchip - she received the news that Bella had been found in North Kensington and was being cared for at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Bella, a black six-month-old Patterdale Terrier, disappeared in March after being let off the lead briefly during exercise on Mitcham Common.

She was playing when a man walking a larger dog grabbed her.

Miss Neilon, 37, a mother-of-three, said: “He picked her up and ran off with her.

“I shouted at him and tried to give chase but I couldn’t catch up with him.

“I was sick to the stomach, there was a wave of panic.”

She contacted police to log the crime and then called her cousin and the pair combed the common but to no avail.

Every day, Ms Neilon went back to search, but it was in vain.

Her only reminder of the dog was an empty lead hanging by her front door.

Miss Neilon believes Bella may have been snatched because she is a valuable dog, costing £320.

She Neilon said her children, Caelam, 11, Kyle, eight, and Charlotte, seven, were distraught at the loss and were upset for weeks afterwards.

Miss Neilon launched a campaign on Facebook and rallied friends in the hunt but the trail went cold.

She said: “I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t know where she was.

“We feared she was being used for dog fighting or to hunt rabbits.

“I had to come to terms with the fact she wasn’t coming home.

“I told my children that a man had taken her.

“They were distraught for weeks afterwards.”

Then last week - nearly six months after Bella vanished - Miss Neilon received a postcard from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home saying that Bella had been handed in.

Bella was found roaming Latimer Road and was brought in by a resident who said the dog had been living at a nearby travellers' site.

Miss Neilon said: “When I received the card I was crying my eyes out.

“I went to Battersea and Bella recognised me straight away, she was licking my face.

“After I went to collect her, I kept it as a surprise for the children when they came home from school.

“It shows that microchipping really does work and is the best thing we could have done.”

Bella appeared to be in a reasonable condition and was nourished but had lot some patches of fur, possibly due to stress.

Just a third of dogs taken in at Battersea have identifying microchips.

Liz McWalter, head of intake at Battersea said: “What an uplifting reunion after six months of Bella being stolen from her owners.

“It really does highlight the importance of microchipping your pet and keeping your details up to date. “Battersea offers free microchipping for dog owners at our three centres in London, Kent, and Old Windsor, and if you haven’t already got your dog chipped we’d urge you to take this simple step to ensure you can be reunited with your pet should you get parted.”